Flexible buckle cover for buckle shoes



July 29, 1958 F. J. MUELLER ETAL ,8

FLEXIBLE BUCKLE CQVER FOR BUCKLE SHOES Filed Ma 2:5,.1955

r'llllllllllllllj Frczrzcs J MmeZZr andflnrzoa Mueller INVENTORS BY y 7% mm,

Arron/5y BUCKLE COVER FOR BUCKLE SHOES Francis J Mueller and Anna Mueller, Trenton, N. J. ApplicationMay 23, 1955, Serial N0.*'510,176

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-175) Thisinventiom relates to shoes of the type designed to be secured on the foot of the wearer by means of a strap of which one end is attached to one side of the shoe and the other end connected to a buckle having a hinged tonguearrangedtoproject outwardly through a hole in (the strap. Insuch a position the point of' the tongue 'is exposed! Shoes for children, particularly, are now 'commonlyprovided-with straps and buckles, and young children during the course of their daily activities in their homes do enormous damage to furniture by digging the points of the buckle tongues into the upholstery and scratching the varnished surfaces with the buckle tongues and also the buckles which are commonly made of metal. Moreover, restless babies held in the laps of their mothers damage the dresses and hosiery of the mothers and even cause injuries with the points of the buckle tongues. Also women who wear buckle shoes causes serious damage to their own hosiery with the buckle tongues when crossing their feet while in a sitting position.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide 'an inexpensive but easily applied and durable cover for shoe buckles having a smooth exposed surface and made of a non-metallic material which will not of itself damage fabrics nor mar varnished surfaces.

Another object of this invention is to provide a buckle cover of the character mentioned having suflicient flexibility and freedom from fiaccidity to permit bending of the cover over the front of the buckle and still leave the exposed surface free from wrinkles or other unsightly irregularities.

Since the simplest and least expensive form ofbuckle cover is a flat sheet of material provided with a slot at each end to receive a shoe strap, a further object of the invention is to provide a buckle cover having slots in each end and made of a material of suflicient toughness and resistance to tearing that the slots will durably support the cover on the strap, and also of suflicient resistance to moisture and scufiing to withstand the usual abuses to which childrens shoes are subjected, without losing its original shape and appearance.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a buckle cover of the character mentioned which can be made in various durable colors of non-toxic composition.

In our study of materials for a buckle cover of nonmetallic and non-toxic composition having the characteristics of smoothness of surface, flexibility, toughness and resistance to moisture and other deteriorative elements we have found that certain plastic materials, for example, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene, are best suited for the purpose mentioned. Such materials are non-toxic, and can be readily formed into sheet which, is relatively tough, durable and resistant to the effects of moisture, greases, oils, gases, acids, alkalis and many other organic solvents; it can be made transparent and in various colors and will not deteriorate when subjected to high temperatures. Such sheet will also bend without wrinkling.

Accordingly, the present invention in its broader sense United States Patent I proved buckle cover.

coverwillbe apparent from the following" specification and reference to the accompanying drawings forming-a part thereof, in which 'Fig. 1 isa perspective view of one form of childs shoe with' our improved buckle cover applied'thereto;

Fig; 2 is a detail perspective view of our improved buckle cover engaged-at one endwith a shoe-strap;

Fig; 3 is a detail'perspective' view of our improved buckle cover completely installed over the buckle of a shoe;

"Fig; 4 is a transverse sectional view of a shoe; showing -our improved buckle cover completely installed on the shoe;'and I Fig.- 5 isa plan-view of one embodiment of ourim- Referringtothedrawings in--which like numerals designate like parts in the several views, 10 designates a shoe to which is attached a buckle 12, which in the structure illustrated is attached at its middle portion to the shoe, and a strap 14 is also attached to one side of the shoe.

As shown more clearly in Fig. 2 a buckle cover 16 consisting of a bendable sheet of plastic material of greater length and width than the buckle is provided at its ends with transverse slots 18, through one of which the strap 14 is inserted before it is inserted through the buckle 12, the slots being sufiiciently narrow to closely fit over the strap. After insertion through the slot 18 the strap 14 is passed through the buckle 14, the cover is return bent over the adjacent end of the buckle and the free end of the strap 14 is then inserted through the slot 18 at the free end of the cover 16 and return bent over the buckle end as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. It will be seen that the ends of the cover 16 when in assembled position curve over the ends of the buckle 12 and are held in that relation by the frictional engagement of the edges of the slots with the sides of the strap, thereby covering not only the frame of the buckle but also the end of the tongue 20 of the buckle, so that the buckle frame is substantially inclosed and concealed from frontal view, and so that contact of the buckle frame or the tongue 20 with any object is positively precluded.

As more clearly shown in Fig. 5 the buckle cover 14 may be formed with ornamental end portions 22 having semicircular ears 24 enclosing the ends of the slots 18 thereby forming reduced necks 26 which merge into the parallel edges 28 defining the body of the cover.

In applying our improved buckle cover to a shoe buckle it is necessary only to insert the strap 14 through one of the slots 18, insert the strap through the buckle 12 with the tongue 20 projecting through one of the holes 30 in the strap, fold the cover 16 over the buckle and tongue, then insert the free end of the strap 14 through the open slot of the cover and push the end of the cover toward the adjacent portion of the buckle 12. The slight tension in the curved ends of the cover will create suflicient frictional engagement in the slots 18 to hold the cover in a substantially fixed position on the strap 14 without pulling the strap 14 out of its normal position.

As previously explained, the plastic cover 14 isnot only flexible but of a sufficient degree of stiffness that it will cover the buckle with a smooth and attractive outer sur-' portant characteristic when used by children, but is resistant to moisture, grease and other deteriorative elements and can be made transparent and in various colors to enhance its external appearance. Obviously the cover can also be made in any desired shape and stamped with any desired letters or ornamental figures.

Although our improved buckle cover has been illustrated as applied to a buckle attached to a shoe and with a single strap it is obvious that it is equally well adaptable to a shoe having a pair of straps with the buckle attached to one of the straps.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a simple, inexpensive and attractive buckle cover for buckle shoes which is easily attachable to the strap of a shoe, and which not only will effectively prevent damage to the varnished wood and upholstery of furniture, hosiery and other fabrics, as well as injury to persons by the buckle frames and tongues of shoe buckles, and prevent children from unbuckling their shoes, but which is entirely free from any toxic or other elements which might present danger of any nature to children in the use of the cover. Grease and other soiling substances can easily be washed or wiped from the surface of the cover.

Obviously various modifications in the design of our improved buckle cover may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiment of our invention shown and described is intended to be illustrative only, and not limited to the specific construction shown.

I claim:

A buckle cover for a shoe having a strap and buckle for securing the shoe on a foot, said cover comprising a relatively thin and bendable sheet of greater length and width than said buckle, said cover having transverse slots at its respective ends of a width sufiiciently narrow to closely fit over the strap, the ends of said cover being adapted to be return bent over the ends of the buckle so that the buckle is substantially concealed from frontal view, and held in such relation by frictional engagement of the edges of the slots with the sides of the strap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 222,720 Mosrnan Dec. 16, 1879 434,720 Mosman Aug. 19, 1890 552,506 Benjamin Ian. 7, 1896 1,481,995 Duke Jan. 29, 1924 1,897,306 Flint Feb. 14, 1933 

